county delivery system summary report: statewide survey of extension personnel nick fuhrman, ph.d....

County Delivery System County Delivery System Summary Report: Statewide Summary Report: Statewide

Survey of Extension Survey of Extension PersonnelPersonnel

Nick Fuhrman, Ph.D.Assistant Professor

Agricultural Leadership, Education, & Communication

Our Sample (738 completed Our Sample (738 completed surveys)surveys)

Our SampleOur SampleNE District: 148 (20.2%)NW District: 183 (25.0%)SE District: 150 (20.5%)SW District: 153 (20.9%)State-level: 98 (13.4%)

Note: On average, 129 people skipped the demographic section.

Our SampleOur Sample

Quantitative ResultsQuantitative ResultsWe should have at least one

Agent in every county, regardless of program area.

Open to another delivery model, other than county-based delivery?

0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience

49% open, 13% did not know

51% open, 13% did not know

0-5 years experience(n = 257)

6-15 years experience(n = 254)

42% absolutely agree 39% absolutely agree

Quantitative ResultsQuantitative ResultsAgents should have opportunities

in multiple program areas.

For some services, paraprofessionals are a viable alternative to a full-time Agent.0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience

70% agree 80% agree

0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience

67% agree 67% agree

The Role of The Role of ParaprofessionalsParaprofessionalsIn a county with no Agents, what

services/programs could be done by a paraprofessional only?

1.4-H club meetings/in-school programs2.Submitting soil, water, and plant

samples to lab3.Office duties (answering phones, copies,

etc.)4.Publicizing programs (distributing pubs.)5.All “canned” programs w/ supervision

Quantitative ResultsQuantitative ResultsIf your county Extension office

had to be closed, would you be willing to work in another county?

Should county offices consider alternative office hours to meet clientele needs?0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience

49% yes, 32% no, 19% didn’t know

52% yes, 29% no, 19% didn’t know

0-5 years experience 6-15 years experience

62% yes, 8% no, 30% didn’t know

61% yes, 12% no, 27% didn’t know

Importance to County Importance to County DeliveryDelivery

Extension Component Level of Importance

Producing written publications Important (57%)

Facilitating one-on-one face-to-face education

Important (80%)

Facilitating group face-to-face education Important (85%)

Using mass media (press, news, radio) for education

Important (55%)

Facilitating online education Moderately Important (46%)

Designing/maintaining a website Moderately Important (42%)

Using social media (facebook, twitter) for education

Moderately Important (33%)

4-H Agents must engage 4-H Agents must engage in…in…

ANR Agents must engage ANR Agents must engage in…in…

FACS Agents must engage FACS Agents must engage in…in…

Where to make cutbacks?Where to make cutbacks?

1. Decrease number of meetings (and travel), implement more online

2. Cluster/consolidate offices and programs

3. Reduce printing and postal mail use

What to protect at all What to protect at all costs?costs?1. Presence in every county (county

offices)2. 4-H programming3. ANR Agents and programs

SummarySummaryPersonnel open to alternative delivery

models and working in another county with alternative office hours

Agents should serve multiple program areas

Paraprofessionals are an important resource to consider and utilize

Face-to-face education is more important over technology-facilitated education for clientele